Only the Willing
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: They can, and will, save the world, but only by doing so one willing soul at a time.  Slash.


Title: "Only the Willing"  
>Author: Pirate Turner<br>Rating: PG  
>Summary: They can, and will, save the world, but only by doing so one willing soul at a time.<br>Warnings: Slash  
>Word Count: 1,675<br>Date Written: 16 April, 2011  
>Challenge: XDisneyDreamers' Challenge of the Week for 15 April, 2011<br>Disclaimer: Professor Charles "Professor X" Francis Xavier, Erik Magnus "Magneto" Lehnsherr, Feral, Logan/Wolverine, Cain "Juggernaut" Marko, Scott "Cyclops" and Jean Grey-Summers, Ororo "Storm" Munroe, all other characters mentioned within, and the X-Men are & TM Marvel comics and Disney, not the author; are used without permission; and may not be used without permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Charles sighed deeply as he sat, staring out at the night sky. The government had arrested Feral today. He'd just spent hours talking to Cable and reassuring him that they had done all they could for the young woman until now, after his long discussions with X-Force's team leader who also felt the weight of the world upon his shoulders, Charles felt immensely alone with only a powerful headache to keep him company.

He had not lied to the boy, he thought again. They had done everything they could for Feral, but the young mutant had never wanted their help or protection. She had chosen her path herself, and there was little they could do about her decision save working with all they possessed to better care for and protect the rest of the latest generation of mutants.

Feral had taught them all a hard lesson to swallow - that no matter how hard you tried or how much you sacrificed, you could never help those who were unwilling to accept that help, you couldn't save those who were determined to forego the protection you fought so hard to grant. Charles swallowed hard against the tears he'd been fighting all night. He had learned that lesson before, with two men who would always be amongst the most important people in the world to him, his brother, the self-proclaimed Juggernaut, and his secret love, and greatest foe, Magneto. Both of them had foregone his every effort to protect them and help them see the reality of the only world in which mutants could ever truly be accepted, and tonight's loss had brought those losses closer to his memory and made the pain fresh again.

He stared out of the window and watched a shooting star. He thought for a scant second of making a wish but then hung his head for he knew his wishes, those things which he secretly coveted the most in all the world, like being able to have his beloved Erik at his side fighting with him for a better tomorrow instead of fighting against him for a dream that would kill millions and had already taken the lives of hundreds or having had his brother never been exposed to the effects of the M'kraan crystal, would never come true. No matter how hard he and his beloved students fought to change it, the world would always be what it would be and would never be the peaceful world of which he dreamed until both mutants and humans alike were willing to make the required sacrifices to make it bring about that peace, and those who did not want to be helped and refused to be saved would always be lost in the end.

Charles' head hung lower, his chin touching his chest. To the unknowing eye, he would have appeared to be sleeping, but in truth, his mind was caught up with every memory of every person he had ever failed. There were Erik and Cain, of course, looming closest to his mind and heart, as well as Feral whom they had lost this day, but there was also Jean who, though being alive today, had died on his watch; the young Changeling; the peaceful Morlocks; and so many, many more that Charles' heart hurt greater than any pain he had ever known, greater even than the loss of his legs, and even greater than the pain that had tore his heart asunder into a million shreds when his beloved soul mate, the man with whom he'd once thought he'd always share every moment and dream for the rest of his life, Erik, had walked away from him. That pain remained to this day as fresh, painful, and raw as it had been when his beloved Magnus had first left him, but combined with the other losses, it became again almost more than Charles could bare.

He wanted to cry out against the unfairness of it all, and yet his tears were frozen inside of his blue eyes. Tears did not help; they only made the headaches of life worse. The regret and guilt within him also did not assist to make the reality of his losses any easier to bare and instead made the pain still all that much greater. He liked to think of himself as the father of mutant kind; he was truly his X-Men's father and would gladly have laid down his life for any one of them. Yet it was times like these that Charles missed his own father, times like these when he wished that he himself had some one to turn to, some one to understand his pain and help him survive the waves of harsh reality crashing against his solitary shore of heartache.

But he was alone. He could not bare to go to any of his students, though many had offered an ear, a shoulder, or even open arms. He could not allow himself to add to their pain or let his fears be known. He was their father, and as such, he had to be their pillar. Yet that left him with no pillar of his own.

A tear rolled down his face, and then he felt a gentle hand upon his shoulder. His mind flashed back to another time, years ago, when he had been a doctor in the war. He had walked outside to view the setting sun after losing a patient who had also been a friend and had ended up breaking down, crying not just for his lost friend but for all the others whom he had been unable to save and for the home that he missed and sometimes wondered if he would ever again see. Erik had found him there, had touched his shoulder casually and then, when Charles had turned to look at him, had taken him into his arms.

But Erik was not here tonight. Their lives had changed so much that they were now forever apart for even on the rare occasions that they did stand together, their dreams and hopes for tomorrow still kept them worlds apart. The hand on his shoulder was touching, reassuring, and delicate, the last of which his beloved Erik had never been, and he knew immediately to whom the comforting touch belonged. He wiped the tear from his eye, admonishing himself silently for letting it fall and allowing that moment of open emotion to let his students, or, at least, his first student know how he grieved this night.

He cleared his throat and then spoke softly, "Thank you, Jean, but I am . . . "

A soft, slightly accented voice spoke up from his other side, surprising Charles for he'd been so lost in his thoughts and memories that he'd heard neither of the young women enter the room. "You grieve for her as we all do, Charles," Ororo said, placing her hand on his other shoulder, "and that is well understood."

"As is," Jean added, giving his shoulder a slight squeeze, "that we are here for you, Professor, even if you'll not ask for help or admit that you're sad."

Charles nodded, his frown twisting into the smallest of grins at this gentle reminder that he was, in truth, far from being alone. He placed his hands on both of theirs as he answered humbly, "Thank you, my children," and knew again that he would never be alone.

Ororo gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "We can only save the willing, my friend."

Though they did little to comfort him and the true comfort he did receive was instead from her and Jean's gentle presence beside him, Charles nodded. They may not be able to save the whole world, but together, they could save parts of it even if only by saving one willing soul at a time. He was reminded of that fact by their gathering beside him and the ones who quietly filed into the room behind them, with Hank and Scott in the lead and Logan bringing up the tail of the small group. None of them said a word, but he knew they were there, waiting, watching, and making certain he would be okay. He smiled despite himself and their grief as his family's presence slowly began to assuage his pain. He may be their pillar, but his students were his foundation.

They loved each other as a true family, even with the odd ones like Feral refusing to be a part of their bond and rejecting their offers of love and protection, and forever they would stand together. None of them need ever be alone again lest they choose it, and he certainly would never push his children away no matter how hard he strove to be strong, knowledgeable, and reassuring in their eyes. He would never leave them, and they, he knew too and was endlessly thankful for, would also never leave him. Each one of them was but a small fragment in the span of life, but together they became not only a loving family but also a formidable force. Even if they couldn't save every single life they came across for there would always be some individuals who would refuse their aid and protection, they would change the world.

Lifting his blue eyes shimmering with tears, Charles saw another shooting star, and upon that one, he did make a wish. He wished for a better tomorrow for them all. He wished for all of his family to be safe and his team to be successful in bettering the world for all who lived within it. He wished for his time with his family to never end, and he wished, too, in the back of his mind and the deepest part of his heart, that Feral would come to find whatever it was that she needed to make her happy and be given it. He blinked against his tears. He couldn't save them all, but together, he and his students, his family, could and would save the world.

**The End**


End file.
